The present invention relates to new compositions of matter and more particularly to a coating composition for protecting metal surfaces from corrosion.
Corrosion of metal equipment, particularly aircraft, ships, and automobiles, is a constant concern of maintenance personnel because of the very serious problems that corrosive deterioration presents to safe and effective equipment operation. Salt laden environments and various power plant exhaust gases compound the maintenance problems because of their advanced rate of corrosive deterioration. Since the corrosive breakdown of vital metal parts will threaten the structural integrity of the equipment, corrosion control is of prime importance and a corrosion-resistant compound for coating these metal parts is highly desirable.
Paint provides an excellent barrier against corrosion. However, all painted surfaces are subject to eventual failure or breakdown at a rate depending on the type of paint used and their environment. Routine maintenance of equipment involves handling of painted surfaces that can often times cause paint to chip and scratch. Furthermore, paint film can crack during equipment performance usually in small but critical areas, leaving the metal surface exposed to corrosive reaction with the environment. Thus, a corrosion preventive composition that deposits, on painted as well as unpainted metal, a dry film coating which resists cracking, chipping, and scratching is of prime importance to effective corrosion control.
Existing corrosion preventive compounds have not adequately met these needs of effective corrosion control. Various corrosion preventives have been developed but have not been found to be completely satisfactory because of various shortcomings in their deposited film coatings. Some of the developed compounds have provided adequate corrosion protection, but have deposited a rather unsightly brown, tacky and dirt attracting film. Other compositions have deposited a relatively clear dry film which is corrosion resistant but which is soft and tends to scratch easily thereby reducing its effectiveness.